Salomon Blank Slate /  by Hazen Woolson

Last winter was a tricky one for ski conditions in Tahoe - it seemed more often than not it was ‘feast or famine,’ 6 foot mega storms or high pressure sunny conditions for long stretches. When Mike Douglas reached out about the idea he had for Blank Slate, I was immediately excited about the concept and knew where we could bring the crew, but I worried the weather might not cooperate as the winter was winding down in California.

Lucky for us, Mother Nature wasn’t ready to change seasons quite yet. We were forecasted to receive a solid late-season storm that would drop a few feet of pow and bring the backcountry skiing a much needed refresh. Rallying the Salomon crew- Josh Daiek, Drew Peterson, Mali Noyes and Trevor Semmons - with good friends and filmers Bevan Waite and Nick Cahill behind the lens, we made it out to the spot just as the sun rose and proceeded to lay some lines down on the Blank Slate.

Producers: Hazen Woolson & Mike Douglas

Cinematographers: Hazen Woolson, Bevan Waite, Nick Cahill

Volunteer Fire Foundation Work /  by Hazen Woolson

From my social media post…

Working with @volunteerfirefoundation this spring to document 2 days of firefighter training at Fort Cronkhite was a real eye-opener to see how much time and effort these volunteers invest. As drought conditions intensify and global warming continues to impact our environment, firefighters are continually being asked to do so much more. Luckily organizations like @volunteerfirefoundation help the incredible folks who volunteer their time to protect the places we love. Thank you to those men and women on the front lines!

I even got to take a ride in the litter towards the end of the day! Two beautiful days in the Marin headlands capturing some rad action… no complaints.

The Russian Swing /  by Hazen Woolson

Late last summer JJ Schiller and my good friend Josh Daiek finished working on their newest creation: a hand-made Russian swing. These contraptions are most often used in circuses by trained professionals to launch acrobats into the air, but these guys had different plans. They decided to install it on a dam with a 20 foot drop into a pool below intended to maximize their hang time. And boy, did it.

Super Flower Blood Moon (?) /  by Hazen Woolson

It was a jarring alarm at 3 am as I rose to get my gear together. I was headed out to Mount Tamalpais here in Mill Valley to get a good view of the setting full moon as it crossed paths with Earth’s shadow. I jumped in the cold truck and headed up the ridge as the eclipse was beginning to obscure our closest heavenly companion.

The resulting eclipse of the Flower Moon was stunning in the quiet early hours of the morning, and I was glad to be in one of the best areas on the planet to view it. As the Earth passed between the sun and moon, all 360 degrees of sunsets happening around the globe were refracted onto the surface of the moon, painting it a beautiful (and somewhat macabre) red.

To be completely honest, it wasn’t the most visible phenomena. A car pulled up while I was taking photos, and the two women hopped out full of enthusiasm and expectation only to be slightly let down. The colors were coming through clearly on the camera, and I was thankful to have the device with me to enjoy this astrological event.

Sony a6500 with Sigma 100-400mm f5-6.3 at 400mm

f6.3 1s exposure @ ISO 800

Stills Posted from Blank Collective Montana Trip /  by Hazen Woolson

Happy spring to you! It may seem an odd time to post winter imagery, but I’ve just sent off a winter’s worth of footage to the amazing editing team at the Blank Collective headquarters in British Columbia. This winter was full of weather-related challenges for Tahoe, forcing the Blank America team to travel far and wide to score the epic conditions prized by fans, athletes and producers alike.

BlankBoard_1.1.jpg

Our first trip in January brought us to Montana just after a dangerous avalanche cycle stabilized and a snowstorm dropped 12” of cold light powder in the mountains just north of Yellowstone National Park. Along for the ride was Drew Peterson, Lexi Dupont and Josh Daiek - an all-time crew to explore a ton of new terrain!

BlankBoard_2.1.jpg

Powder, Pillows, Couloirs, Air Time and Snowmobiles are all necessary ingredients in a ski movie.

Forsake Shoe Co Work /  by Hazen Woolson

What a crazy winter it’s been ! Lots of traveling to catch good snow, because California is not getting their fair share this season. In any case, I had the great fortune to work for Forsake Co producing a marketing piece for their best-selling women’s ‘Patch’ sneakerboot around the Tahoe and Bay areas. I learned so much with this one: doing everything from location scouting to producing to shooting and editing this piece, I’m looking forward to more work like this in the future!

Playing Outside With All The Gear /  by Hazen Woolson

This past week I was happy to be in Tahoe while a few smaller snow (and rain) storms hit us and coated the upper peaks in fresh powder. I followed some of my good friends out on snowmobiles into the Castle Peak backcountry just north of I80 and filmed them hitting a great early-season jump.

It felt great to be back at it again in the mountains - skiing, snowmobiling and filming with some incredible people. I spent the day remembering all the tricks to filming in harsh conditions, thinking critically about which pieces of gear to bring, and testing out the new Sigma 100-400mm Contemporary lens that I got for this season.

As I look ahead I can’t help but be excited for what’s to come - Blank Collective is bringing me on again to film with Josh Daiek and other skiers in the states as the coronavirus has limited travel between Canada and the US. I’ve also been planning with Josh and Connery Lundin a road trip of epic proportions exploring Nevada’s remote peaks and desolate backroads throughout the winter - a dream come true. In the meantime, enjoy the quick clip from skiing in Tahoe the other day with Jed Kravitz, Garrett Balen, Connery Lundin, Trevor Semmens, Colin Gordon and Zach Steele.